Programs & Services:
Wireless Troubleshooting
If you are having problems connecting to the wireless network, please try the following:
- Ensure your wireless adapter is enabled (internal adapter) or plugged in (external adapter).
- Once you have verified that your wireless adapter is working, try rebooting your computer. When it comes back up, wait until you get the “wireless networks detected” message and attempt to connect again.
- Your browser or your security software (e.g. Virus Scanner or Firewall) may be configured to not allow redirects. When you open your browser and attempt to connect to your personal homepage our system attempts to redirect your browser to our login page. If you are not redirected, you cannot login and your browser will display an error. In this state, you won't be able to browse the Internet until you have authenticated. Type the following URL into the address bar of your browser. This will manually take you to the Wireless login page. 1.1.1.1
- Check your wireless network adapter settings to make sure you don’t have any information statically entered (ie. configured for a specific network, like your home or office wireless network). IP address and DNS settings should be set to, “obtain from server”.
- Ensure your computer is not infected with a virus or spyware. If you have an up-to-date security suite that is programmed to update and scan automatically, you should be ok. If you do not update and scan regularly, this may be an issue on your equipment. Depending on the nature of the infections, your laptop may be broadcasting or probing other computers on our network. Security measure in place on our network may have detected this and limited your access.
- Be advised that setting changes, software and/or browser add-ins you employ on your computer/browser may interfere with your access to public wireless, including HPL’s. We are not able to troubleshoot beyond assuring that in general users can obtain a wireless connection to the Internet.
A Final Word About Support
Though our department/branch staff will always try to be helpful, verify the service is working and offer suggestions, this is a self-serve service and staff are not able to provide technical support for your laptop or other wireless devices.
If staff have not been advised of service interruptions, and other patrons are using the system, it is likely the problem resides on your system. Please try to be patient and understand that it is impossible for them to extend themselves in this role. If you are unhappy with the level of support being offered and wish to comment, staff will direct you on how to express your concerns to our administration team. Thank you.
Common Support Issues
Out of Date Wireless Adapter Drivers: We keep our systems up-to-date and older equipment may have device drivers that are no longer supported. Please refer to your wireless adapter manufacture’s website for information on driver updates.
Spyware and Malware can cause some very unusual browser activity. This activity may be suppressed in your home/office network by firewalls, but when you are on an open network, they can become active. If you are trying to browse to a page and different pages load, or popup windows persist, you likely have some variation of Malware. We are unable to help you with these issues. There are a lot of free and low cost options to assist you on the Internet, as well, many of the big name security companies have consumer products that address these issues.
Security Certificate Warning Messages: Your browser may warn you when you are attempting to attach to a site that has an out-of-date security certificate. Though normally we would encourage you to not connect to such sites unless you are sure it is safe, if this happens when you are attempting to connect to Hamilton_Guest, it is a known problem, and if the address is 1.1.1.1, then it is safe to proceed.
SMTP Mail is not permitted on our networks. We advise patrons to use Web Hosted services such as Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail, or connect with their ISP (Sympatico, Cogeco, etc.) helpdesk to find the web version of ISP hosted email services.
Hardware Wireless Adapter Switches: Most people are aware that they can turn off wireless in Windows, but many users don’t realize that there is often a switch or button on laptops that will turn the wireless adapter on and off.
